Snow or ice melting apparatus



(No Modei.)

v C. F. SPRINGPELS. SNOW OR ICE MELTING APPARATUS.

N0. 520,941. Patented June 5, 1894.

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NtrrED STATES ATENT FFICE.

CHARLES F. SFRINGFELS, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

SNOW OR ICE MELTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 520,941, dated one 5,1894. Application filed February 10, 1894. Serial No. 499,730- (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. SPRINGFELS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Snow or IceMelting Apparatus and I do hereby declare the following to be afull,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accom panying drawings, and to figuresof reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to portable apparatus for melting snow and ice, itsobject being to convert the accumulations of snow and ice in the streetsof cities into water, which is discharged into the sewers, therebysaving the expense of hauling the same long distances as is now thecase;

To that end my invention consists of a portable box or receptacle, afurnace located underneath the box or receptacle, a draft-passageoccupying a hollow space, which covers the bottom of the box orreceptacle, such draft-passage extending around a partition wall in thehollow space and opening at one side of the rear end into the fire-boxof the furnace and at the other side of the rear end into thesmoke-pipe, and an outlet passage leading from the box or receptacle toa pipe or hose underneath the same for conveying the melted snow and iceor water to the sewer.

My invention consists of other details of construction which will bemore fully hereinafter described. r

I will now proceed to minutely describe the manner in which I havecarried out myinvention and then claim what I believe to be novel.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side sectional elevation of myimprovedapparatus taken in the line 00-00 of Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a rear elevationof the same with portions broken away, and Fig. 3 is a horizontalsection taken in the line y-y of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the box or receptacle into which thesnow or ice to be melted is thrown and it is preferably mounted upon therunners 2. 2. as shown.

3 is a furnace located underneath the box 1 and preferably at its rearend. It has the ash'pit 4, grate-bars 5 and fire-box6 to which access isobtained through the door 7.

8 is a hollow space covering the bottom of the box or receptacle whichis formed into a draftpassage leading from one side of the rear end ofthe boxl as at 9 which opens into the fire-box, to the frontand aroundthe par- "tition 10 and back along the other side of the partition 10 asat 11, to the rear of the box 1 where it opens into the smoke pipe 12.An outlet-passage 13 is located at the forward end of the box 1 whichpasses down through the hollow space 8 and leads into a pipe or hose 14secured at one side to the ru'nnenframe its read end 15 being adapted tobe secured to a hose not shown leading to the nearest opening into thesewer.

16 is an adjustable section of pipe fitting snugly within the outletorifice 13 and adapted to be raised or lowered within the same to limitthe drainage of the water in the box or entirely removed to. permit anysediment which mayhave collected to pass out through the orifice 13.

17 is the seat for the driver and 18. 18. are side steps and 19 a rearstep upon which the attendants stand and are carried as the apparatus ismoved from place to place.

tained in the furnace 3 and the products of combustion pass up into theportion 9 of the draft passage and pass forward and around the partition10 into and along the portion 11 to the smoke-pipe 12 where they passout into the open air. In this manner the bottom of the box orreceptacle 1 which forms the upper wall of the draft passage is heatedto a very high temperature which has the effect of rapidly melting thesnow and ice thrown into the box. A portion of the water resultingtherefrom passes out through the adjustable section 16 and through theoutlet-passage 13 into the pipe 14 from whence it is conducted into thesewer.

The object of the adjustable section of pipe 16 is to retain a portionof the water in the box up to the level of the top of the section I 16,which level may be varied as desired by In operation-a hot fire is madeand main:

raising or lowering the section 16 in its socket.

The remaining water is kept at a high temperature by the furnace andgreatly facilitates the melting of the snow and ice thrown '5 thereinand as, by this means, a supply of hot Water is always maintained in thebox, the apparatus when itslocation is changed is ready for instant usewhen its next destination is reached.

The accumulations of sediment in the box or receptacle 1 may be removedwhen desired by removing the adjustable section of pipe 16 thuspermitting the sediment to be washed out by the escaping water.

It wilh be readily seen that with my improved apparatus the largeaccumulations of snow and ice upon the streets of a city can be quicklydisposed of and at a greatly reduced expense as the long and costly haulnew nee- 2o essary under the present system is entirely eliminated.

I have added, to the front of the furnace a plow or protector 20 whichis formed of two sheets of iron arranged at a vertical angle to 25 eachother and designed to prevent any contact of the snow or ice with thefront wall of the furnace.

A portable snow melting apparatus consisting of a box or receptacle, afurnace located underneath the box or receptacle a draft-passageoccupying a hollow space which covers the bottom of the box orreceptacle such draft passage extending around a partition wall in thehollow space and opening at one side of the rear end of the receptacleinto the firebox of the furnace and at the other side of the rear endinto the smoke-pipe and an outlet passage provided with a vertically adjnstable and removable section of pipe all com bined and operatingsubstantially as and for the purpose stated.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES F. SPRINGFELS.

VVitne sses:

W. T. MILLER, F. I. KERsrEN.

